Starter (10 mins approx.)

Ask students about how the space they are in affects how they behave. Start with the classroom environment.

How does a classroom environment dictate behaviour? What can they do and not do in a classroom? How is it like and not like, for example, their own house?

Share ideas. Then introduce the concept of the teacher being present in the classroom as opposed to the teacher not being present – how does this impact how they might use the space and how they might feel in the space? And what about if two teachers are in a classroom without their students – how might this impact on how the teachers feel, and what they might say and do, compared to what they might say and do when a student was in the room with them?

Now ask students to, if they can, explain the difference between space and place – space being general and place being specific – and what the differences between space and place might be in a school environment. An example might be the space is a school, but the place within the school is the girls’ toilets. Are the rules different in the girls’ toilets as opposed to the space of the school in general? Can things be said or done in the girls’ toilets that couldn’t be said or done in, say, a corridor in the school? If the example of girls’ toilets might be too inflammatory for your class, use a corridor or dining hall instead.

Introduce the idea of private v. public space. How does our behaviour differ in spaces where we know we can’t be observed? Are there any spaces like that in schools? What might that tell us about the world of a school and its hierarchies?

Bring the discussion to a close and ask students to summarise in their notes the difference between place and space, and private space and public space.

Main activity (20 mins approx.)

Explain to students that Act 1 Scene 1 takes place in the public square in Verona. You could show students some pictures of the main town square in Verona to give them an idea of the environment (all while reminding students that Shakespeare never went to Italy, as far as we know, so he is not basing it on the real geography of the city or on any direct knowledge of a specific space in Verona). Look together at the first 33 lines of the play – the exchange between Sampson and Gregory up to the entrance of Abram and the other servingman. This first activity is all about establishing facts – which is a key technique of the rehearsal room – before trying to launch into interpretation and analysis

See the downloadable lesson plan for the full activity, prompt questions and more.

Plenary (20 mins approx.)

Now move on to look at the second part of the scene, which changes from a very public series of encounters, to private ones. It is probably most expedient at this point to just watch the scene being portrayed either in a film or filmed theatrical version rather than reading it through, as the focus here is on space and place rather than on analysing character or language. Ask students to think about the following questions as they watch the scene:

• How is the content of the conversations between the Montagues and Benvolio, and Benvolio and Romeo, different from the conversations we have already seen in this scene?
• How is the characters’ behaviour towards each other different to the behaviour we have seen earlier in the scene?
• How does the change from discussions of violence to discussions of love show a different side to life in Verona? Why do you think that Shakespeare has this abrupt tonal shift within the same scene?
• How does Romeo’s behaviour and conversation differ from what is shown to be usual masculine behaviour in Verona?
• How does Shakespeare use the same space and place to show very different ways of being?

After watching the scene, discuss these questions together. Ask students to make short notes to summarise the discussion and their learning today.

Starter (10 mins approx)

Ask students to consider everything they have learned so far from looking at Act 1 Scene 1 over the past couple of lessons.

Why do they think Shakespeare begins the play with the specific events of Act 1 Scene 1? Ask them to recall who we meet, where we meet them, and under what circumstances. What key themes does Act 1 Scene 1 introduce? How does it set us up for the coming action of the rest of the play?

Split students into small groups of 4-5 and ask them to decide on three key images that they feel exemplify the events of Act 1 Scene 1. Ask students to create these images as three freeze frames or statues to present to the class. After everyone has shown their images, discuss them – what similarities and differences can we see in groups’ interpretations of the scene?

Main activity (30 mins approx)

Remaining in their groups, ask students to work together to create a condensed version of Act 1 Scene 1 to perform to the rest of the class. They will need to decide which parts of the text they want to use, and how they are going to transition between each moment, remembering the whole time that the events of Act 1 Scene 1 all take place in the town square. They also need to consider carefully how lines should be said, and how characters should interact with each other.

Give them about 20 minutes to prepare their script, and then 10 minutes to rehearse.

Plenary (10 mins approx.)

Ask each group to perform their version of the scene – for a true Globe experience, you can arrange students in a circle to form the audience, with the performing space being in the middle. After each group has performed (or just a couple of groups if you have reluctant performers), discuss what each group chose to include – and not to include – in their performance and why. How has this helped them to consolidate their understanding of this scene?